Nordic Combined – Lamparter: 'Only the King Was Unbeatable'

The Nordic Combined Triple in Seefeld provided thrilling action on the first day of the competition. Norwegian Jarl Magnus Riiber claimed his 77th World Cup win in Nordic combined, finishing with an 8.0 point margin ahead of Austrian Johannes Lamparter and another 8.2 points ahead of his compatriot Jens Luraas Oftebro. Just two days after announcing his retirement at the end of the season, the 27‐year-old record winner demonstrated his class once again. Riiber dominated both the ski jumping and the 10 km cross-country sections, further cementing his status as the leader in the overall World Cup standings.

Austrian Johannes Lamparter, whose performance earned him his third top-two finish in a row – following a second place and a win in Schonach – commented, "It was a very solid race. I delivered a perfect jump. Only the king was unbeatable," referring to Riiber’s remarkable performance. In the overall World Cup ranking, Lamparter is now just 193 points behind Riiber, with Stefan Rettenegger in seventh place along with other strong performances by the ÖSV team.

On the women’s side, Ida-Marie Hagen clinched victory in the mass start event, marking her seventh World Cup win this season. Salzburg’s Claudia Purker also celebrated a personal best, achieving her best result in the World Cup. Although Purker’s teammate Lisa Hirner faced difficulties in the cross-country section and had to withdraw for health reasons, Purker’s success brought relief and celebration among her teammates. Other notable performances included Annalena Slamik, who finished 12th, along with Katharina Gruber in 20th and Anna-Sophia Gredler in 24th place.

Looking ahead, the competition continues with compact events scheduled for Saturday and Gundersen method races on Sunday morning.